Tailored resumes are customized versions of your base resume, optimized for specific job postings. This guide walks you through creating your first tailored resume using Huntr's AI Tailor and shows you how to customize your resume to match job requirements.

To create a tailored resume, you need:

There are two ways to create a tailored resume:

The job title from your selected position will be suggested as your tailored resume title, but you can modify this if needed.

Enter the role you're pursuing, like "Software Engineer" or "Marketing Manager." This appears on your resume and helps with ATS optimization.

Choose Entry (0-2 years), Mid Level (2-5 years), or Senior (5+ years). This affects how your resume is scored and what content the AI generates.

Name your resume so you can find it easily in Huntr. This is just for your organization, not what appears on the actual resume.

Choose how to start:

Once you've filled in these details, click Create to open your new base resume in the Resume Builder.

The Editor tab is where you'll spend most of your time adding and refining your resume content. Your resume is organized into sections, each telling part of your professional story.
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The first section you'll see in the Editor is Target Job Title. Click on this section to edit the job title that appears at the top of your resume. This title should match the roles you're targeting or your professional title. This helps with ATS optimization and immediately tells recruiters what role you're pursuing.
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Next, fill in your Personal Info. Your name, email, phone number, and location. Click any field to edit it directly. If you imported a resume or LinkedIn profile, this information is already populated, but you can update it anytime.

Your professional summary should highlight experiences and skills specifically mentioned in the job description. The summary should be sure that it does the following:

You can write your summary manually or use the AI Generator to create new suggestions based on the job requirements.

Your work experience section is typically the most important part of your resume. Each role you add should include your job title, company name, employment dates, and 3-5 achievement-focused bullet points.
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To add a new role, click Add Experience. You'll see a list of work experience from your Huntr profile. Click the + button next to any role to add it to your resume. If the role you want isn't listed, click Create new at the bottom to add a role from scratch. Fill in the job title, company, dates, and details, then save.

You may also drag and drop each each experience to re-order them or use the Sort feature to adjust the organization of your work experience within your resume.

Hover over any achievement bullet point to see quick editing options. Click the pencil icon to edit the text directly, use the regenerate icon to rewrite it with AI, or click the trash can to delete it.
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To update job details like title, company, or dates, click the three dots next to the role and select Edit Experience. This opens the Details Editor where you can modify all the information for that role. You can also edit achievements, add new achievements, and use AI Suggestions from within the Details Editor.

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Hover over any achievement bullet point to see quick editing options. Click the pencil icon to edit the text directly, use the regenerate icon to rewrite it with AI, or click the trash can to delete it.

The Undo button lets you reverse your most recent change. Click it once to undo your last action, whether that was an AI generation, a content edit, or a formatting change. You can click the Undo button multiple times to work backward through your recent changes, undoing them one by one.

This is helpful if you accidentally delete something, don't like an AI-generated suggestion you applied, or want to try a different approach to your content.
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When you click regenerate, the AI Achievement Rewriter opens. Your original achievement appears on the left, with multiple rewrite suggestions shown on the right. Below each rewrite, you'll see an AI Helper explanation that analyzes what was changed and why it's stronger.

You can also use the text box to give the AI Helper a better idea of what changes you would like to make to the achievement so you have direct influence on the new generation created. Once you've gotten a Rewrite you like, hover over it and choose Select to add it to your resume.
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Add your degrees with institution name, degree type, and field of study. Include graduation dates, GPA (if above 3.5), and relevant coursework if it strengthens your resume.

The Skills section for your tailored resume should prioritize keywords from the job description. The system highlights missing skills based on the job requirements.
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Adding and removing skills
Check or uncheck skills from your profile. The AI may have already added job-specific skills, but you can adjust these based on your actual experience.
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Adding skills from the job description
Click AI Suggestions to see skills mentioned in the job posting that you might want to add.
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Organizing skills
Drag and drop skills to reorder them, placing the most relevant ones for this job at the top.
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What to include
Focus on skills that match the job requirements and that you actually possess. Don't add skills you don't have just to match keywords.
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Volunteer work demonstrates skills and values beyond your paid experience. Add unpaid work with nonprofits, community organizations, or causes you support, structured the same way as work experience with a title, organization, dates, and achievement bullet points.

When to include volunteer experience:

Focus on achievements and impact, not just responsibilities. If you helped raise $150,000 for a fundraising committee, that's a notable accomplishment that shows real capability.

When to skip it: If your volunteer work happened more than five years ago or isn't relevant to the roles you're targeting, leave it off. Always prioritize relevant paid experience over volunteer work.

For more guidance, see How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume.

Add professional credentials, licenses, and completed training programs. Each certification needs a name and issuing organization, with optional fields for dates, certification IDs, and descriptions.

Why certifications matter: They validate your skills, show professional growth, and help you stand out with both hiring managers and ATS systems. In regulated industries and technical fields, relevant certifications can be essential.

What to include: Focus on certifications that are current, relevant to your target role, and recognized in your industry. If a certification is in progress, include it with an expected completion date. If a certification has expired but the knowledge is still relevant to the role, you can include it with the expiration date clearly marked.

Formatting tip: Use Huntr's Certification Layout settings (found in Layout & Style) to choose between Inline format (compact, saves space) or Stacked format (gives certifications more visual prominence).

For detailed guidance on listing certifications effectively, see How to List Job Certifications on a Resume.

Projects show your skills in action and give hiring managers concrete proof of what you can deliver. Add side projects, portfolio work, open-source contributions, freelance work, academic capstone projects, or significant initiatives outside your regular job duties.

What makes a strong project entry: Include the project name, a brief description of what you built or accomplished, technologies or skills used, measurable outcomes, and links to live projects or repositories if available.
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When projects are especially valuable:

Treat projects like achievements. Use action verbs and include measurable results whenever possible. Instead of "Built a website," write "Designed and launched a responsive website that improved client site load speed by 35%."
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What to include in your base resume: Focus on projects that demonstrate your core skills and abilities. When you create tailored resumes later, you can emphasize specific projects that match individual job postings.

For examples and detailed guidance, see How to List Projects in a Resume.

Add professional profiles and online portfolios where employers can see your work or professional presence. Common links include LinkedIn, GitHub (for developers), personal websites or portfolios, Dribbble or Behance (for designers), Medium or blog

You don't need to fill in every section, just include what's relevant for your career and target role.

Once your content is in place, use Layout & Style to control how your resume looks and flows.

Reorder sections to prioritize what the employer is looking for. For instance, if technical skills are emphasized in the job description, place Skills higher on your resume. Drag and drop sections to rearrange them.
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You can rename sections to better fit the terminology used in the job description. For example, rename "Projects" to "Case Studies" for consulting roles. Use this carefully and stick to clear, professional labels that both hiring managers and ATS systems will recognize.

Adjust the font size across your entire resume. Font size affects readability and how professional your resume appears.

Best practices:

Remember that font size applies to all text on your resume, so choose a size that keeps your content readable without making your resume look cramped or too spacious. If you're struggling to fit content, focus on editing your text concisely rather than shrinking the font below 10 points.

Adjust the spacing between lines of text. Proper line spacing improves readability and prevents your resume from looking cluttered.

Best practices:

Standard line height works for most resumes, but adjust based on your content density and how much space you need.

Adjust the white space on all four sides of your resume. Margins frame your content and affect how balanced and professional your resume looks.

Best practices:

Proper margins create breathing room and prevent your resume from feeling cramped. If your resume has too much white space, add more relevant content rather than widening margins excessively.
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If you have certifications on your resume, choose between two layout options:

Inline Layout (Compact) - Places certification name, organization, and ID on one line with the description below. This saves space and works well when you have multiple certifications.

Stacked Layout (Expanded) - Each element appears on its own line, giving more visual prominence to your credentials. Best for 1-2 important certifications that are critical for your career.

Switch between layouts anytime in the Certification Settings section.

You can switch between layouts at any time.

Toggle this setting to add or remove a headshot photo from your resume.

Best practice: In most countries (including the United States, Canada, and the UK), headshots are not recommended on resumes. Recruiters prefer to focus on your skills and experience without the potential for unconscious bias based on appearance.

However, if headshots are customary in your country or industry, you can enable this option. When in doubt, research resume norms for your specific location and field before adding a photo.

The Templates tab offers seven professionally designed, ATS-friendly templates in various colors and styles. All templates work seamlessly with your content, so you won't have to worry about formatting issues when you make changes.

Click any template to preview it with your content. Select a colour option that fits your industry and personal style. Simple templates work well for traditional industries like finance or law, while modern designs suit creative or tech roles.
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Want to know more about our templates and what to choose? Check out our Understanding Huntr's Resume Templates article.

The Score tab shows your Job Match Score instead of the standard Resume Score. This score helps you understand how well your tailored resume aligns with the specific job posting.

The Job Match Score analyzes your resume against four key elements from the job posting: Qualifications, Responsibilities, Keywords, and Job Title Match. Unlike simple keyword matching, the system uses a weighted approach where qualifications and core responsibilities matter most.

Your score appears in one of five categories:

A Good or Great score means your resume stands out. If you're scoring Fair or below, the Job Match Score dashboard shows you exactly what's covered and what's missing, so you can focus on adding relevant content.

Click into the Job Match Score to see interactive details:

While a high Job Match Score is valuable, don't add skills or experience you don't actually have just to boost your score. Authenticity matters more than a perfect number. Focus on genuinely relevant content that represents your real capabilities.

AI Tailor automatically generates a tailored version of your resume for a specific job description in just a few minutes. It analyzes the job posting and provides suggested edits for your summary, skills, and experiences, which you can review and refine before finalizing. See AI Tailor to learn more.

If you create a tailored resume that works really well for a specific type of role, you can save it as a new base resume. This is useful if you're targeting multiple distinct career paths and want specialized bases for each.

To convert your tailored resume: Click Save as Base Resume. This keeps your tailored resume but also duplicates it to create a new base resume.